Method of constructing roads



(No Model?) J S. WINTER. METHOD OF GONSTRUOTING ROADS, STREETS, &q.,

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

AND BLOOKS THEREFOR.

Patented Jan. 2,1894.

Uistrnn STATES PATENT Grinch,

JOSEPH S. \VINTER, OF MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA.

METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING ROADS, STREETS, 810., AND BLOCKS THEREFOR.

SPECIFIGATIOIT forming part of Letters Patent No. 511,870, dated January 2, 1894.

Application filed December 30, 1892.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JOSEPH SAMUEL WIN- TER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Montgomery,in the countyof Montgomery and State of Alabama, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Constructing Roads, Streets, dad, and Blocks Therefor; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to the construction of road, street, and other like pavements, whether designed for horse and carriage use, or for foot walks; in fact, to pavements for all uses; and the object of the invention is to provide a pavement or roadway that will readily and quickly carry off the surface water, not allowing any to remain or stand thereon, and a pavement, moreover, which shall be cheap in construction, and in cost of maintenance. r

In laying stone block pavements, it is the general custom to fill the crevices with gravel or pebbles and run in pitch, tar, asphalt or other composition to seal up the crevices; and though block pavements, and brick pavements for sidewalks, are laid with gravel or sand alone worked in between the blocks or bricks, yet they are not so laid for the purpose of securing the result aimed at in the present case, nor do they accomplish the same result. The principle involved in the practice of this invention, is that, of under drainage for the surface water, either wholly or in part; drainage down through the pavement, instead of over it to a side gutter or drain; so that surface water from rains, snows, or other source, sinks into the pavement and disappears, instead of having to flow across the pavement to a ditch or gutter. It will be understood that it is not essential for all of the water to be thus disposed of; in fact, under ordinary conditions, a large part of the surface water will flow ofi in the customary manner; but, the water which ordinarily remains on the pavement and keeps it wet for some time after a rain, is, with a pavement constructed ac- Serial No. 456,844. (No specimens.)

cording to the present invention, at once absorhed and drained off. In low places, which remain wet or damp for a long time, this device is of great advantage.

The primary object of the invention is to secure this sub-pavement drainage directly analogous to the sub-soil drainage Of'fttllll lands by constructing the pavement so that water can pass through it, and yet, so that it can stand the wear of travel; provision being made beneath, for carrying off the water.

This invention is to be distinguished from block pavements in which channels in the blocks themselves, are utilized as drains for surface water; the exposed faces of the blocks having openings leadingfrom the surface into these drain fines. Such ablock pavement resembles my block pavement inasmuch as water can passdirectly downward from the surface;but-, in a pavement of the character above referred to, the water flows off through drain fines in the pavement itself, while, in the present case, it passes entirely through the pavement to sub-strata below. It is also well known that perforated paving blocks are used around trees and like places Where it is desired to allow the air and moisture to get to the roots and yet to permit the space to be walked over; but, such a use of perforated blocks does not involve the essential feature of this invention.

Forthe purpose of securinga firmly bonded block pavement in a road construction of this character, or otherwise, the invention further consists of an improved block pavement and method of constructing the same.

Among various plans suggested for the construction of street pavements, it has been proposed, after preparing a suitable bed, to place thereon paving blocks having recesses or cavitics in their under sides, and, to aid in setting the blocks, to pour a grouting through a series of orifices or passages-preferably larger at the top, and so tapering downward, from the topin the paving blocks, permitting the grouting thus to be applied to the said recesses or cavities in the under sides of the blocks; these tapering passages filled with grouting serving to more firmly hold the blocks and pavement in place. These blocks, however, having their recesses or cavities wholly within the horizontal limits, of. the bottoms" thereof, do not permit of the bonding of the blocks di ectly to each other which is one of the objects of this branch of my invention. This I secure by using ablock or brick made with one or more channels, cavities or recesses extending across the block or brick from end to end, or side to side, or both, with one or more sprues or passages-preferably and for manifest reasons, larger at the top than at bottom, and so tapering downwardopening through the brick from said channels or recesses to the top, or otherwise coinmunicating with the surface, and after the blocks or bricks have been laid these channels, cavities or recesses, are filled with a grouting of cement, asphalt or other composition poured in from the surface through the sprues, the grouting poured through each sprue being permitted to spread through the channels, cavities or recesses and unite with the grouting of adjacent blocks, thereby forming a firm bond of the blocks or bricks. In laying this pavement, some of the sprues, at

intervals, may be temporarily plugged in or-- der to preserve passages of Water through the pavement, and to prevent them from being closed up by the grouting. One advantage derived from this method of bonding the blocks or bricks against lateral displacement is,that the use of keys or ledges molded or formed upon the sides of the bricks is dispensed with. So far as this phase of the invention goes, it is immaterial what form or shape be given to the cavities or recesses in the under sides of the blocks or bricks, so long as they afford channels of communication with the cavities or recesses of a contiguous block or brick, when laid, and it would be within the scope of this invention tohave the cavities or recesses Within the body of the brick, provided they come out to the sides or ends of the brick, and there exist passages leading from the recesses or cavities to the surface, and the same or other passages, leading from the surface, clear through to the bottom of the brick. Nor does it matter how the passages or sprues are formed, whether by openings entirely within the bricks or blocks,or by channels or grooves in the sides or ends of the bricks or blocks, which channels form passages up to the surface when the blocks or bricks are laid in place.

In the construction of street pavements, as heretofore made, bricks, or blocks of hard burned clay, have been used to good advantage, and they make a superior pavement because they always retain a granular or rough surface and do not take a polish from the action of horses shoes and the tires of wheels, as is often the case with stone or iron pavements, and I preferably employ hard burned clay as being the best and cheapest material for these bricks ,or blocks; though blocks of any suitable material may be used.

Having thus outlined the salient points of my invention, I will proceed to describe it in detail, and will then point out the novel features thereof in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a view of a roadway and sidewalk, partly in section, illustrating the application of this invention. Figs. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 show different forms of blocks adapted to be used for the purposes of this pavement.

In preparing for the building of a road or street, I make the proper excavation for the road bed, if such be necessary, making it of the proper depth and leveling it. and then in producing or making the roadbed, a layer of sand or gravel, six to eight inches dee more or less, is spread thereon and Well rolled. It is not necessary to give this the crowning ordinarily given to roads, in fact it may be leveled perfectly flat, or slightly crowned. On the bed thus prepared I lay the surface blocks and these may be of any form or shape, and may be made of any material, provided theyal low the water to pass,if desired, through them from the surface to the sub-draining strata below. The paving blocks, 0, O, illustrated by Figs. 2 and 3, are forms which can be run out by a die, and are, therefore, cheaply made; the holes 0, being punched, after the clay leaves the die. In the case of Fig. 2 the channel 0 is of angular form with sloping side walls, and in the form shown by Fig. 3 the channel a is an arch. These channels, cavities, or recesses extend across the bottom of the brick or block from end to end. The holes or passages 0 pass through the bricks to the channels 0 0 Instead of having a hole in the middle of the brick there may be channels 0 in the end faces of the brick, which, either in conjunction with like channels in the contiguous faces of abutting bricks, or with the ends themselves, of abutting bricks, will form channels or passages leading from the surface to the under sides of the bricks, for the passage of water through the pavement, or for use in filling the channels or cavities in the under sides of the bricks with a grouting of cement or like material, as hereinafter described. The form of brick illustrated by Fig. 4 differs from the form shown in Fig. 3 only in having a transverse channel, recess or cavity 0 in addition to the longitudinal channel a the hole 0 being at the intersection of the two channels or arches, and also in having the corners c of the block cut away to form, when the blocks are laid, transverse. passages that will register with the central side opening 0 of adjacent blocks, the blocks being laid to break joint. The upper surface of the block may or may not be roughened, or provided with grooves, ridges, or projections to aid the horses in maintaining a footing. Other forms of blocks illustrated by Figs. 5,6 and 7 may be used, they being given as suggestions of forms of bricks which, by reducing the weight of each brick and providing fines therein that facilitate the burning, greatly reduce the cost of a brick pavement The blocks having been properly laid on the bed, certain of the holes or passages c at regular intervals, are temporarily closed by inserting sticks or rods D therein, the same being pushed down to the sand bed below, in order to prevent the holes from being closed by the grouting to be afterward applied. This being done, a grouting E, of cement, or other composition, or any material suitable for the purpose, hot or cold, is poured or flowed in through the open passages or holes a in the surface of the pavement, filling all the channels or cavities in the under faces of the blocks or bricks. It will be seen that, as it enters the cavities or recesses, it will not only fill said recesses or cavities, and thus, effectually, set the individual blocks or bricks, but it will also flow or spread out through the ends of said cavities or recesses and unite with the grouting or cement of the adjoining blocks or bricks, in like manner spreading or flowing out of the ends of their recesses or cavities and meeting the aforesaid grouting or cement, thus efiectually bonding the adjoining blocks or bricks, to produce a. firm and permanent street pavement. The rods or sticks D are then withdrawn and the holes left by them, filled up with coarse sand or gravel. The pavement thus formed, is firmly and strongly bonded together, cheap in construction and costs less than a pavement laid with common brick, as now laid, owing to the saving made in the cost of burning and handling the much larger amount of material present in solid bricks. The perfect drainage secured by means of the sub-pavement drainage thereof, makes the pavement last a much longer time and requires less repairs than pavements not Cal possessing this feature; it does not wear in gutters or sunken spots, and this, I attribute, in large part, to the fact that the water percolating or draining through the sand aids in securing a moreunit'orm distribution of press ures under the shifting loads of teams passing over the pavement.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. The improved pavement consisting of blocks having in their under faces channels or recesses opening through their sides and ends, and having a central sprue or passage leading from the upper face down centrally through the block, to under recesses or channels, and a grouting filling said channels or recesses and bonding the individual blocks together, substantially as set forth.

2. The method of laying a bonded block pavement, which consists in layingabed serving as a subdrainage and laying thereon blocks having recesses or cavities in the under side thereof, opening through their sides and ends and vertical channels or passages leading from said cavities or recesses to the top faces of the blocks and through to said bed, temporarily closing certain of said vertical passages with plugs passing through the blocks then flowing a grouting into the open or unplugged passage, filling the channels or recesses, and then opening the temporarily closed passages, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH S. WINTER.

Vitnesses:

STORY B. LADD, S. G. HOPKINS. 

